3:10 to Yuma (remake): Absolutely love this film and seeing Russell Crowe and Christian Bale go at it is brilliant! Also a stunningly creepy performance from one of my "why aren't they massive stars?" actors Ben Foster
Adaptation: Charlie Kaufman writing with Nicolas Cage playing twins, what more needs to be said really?
Big Fish: Noted as the start of Tim Burton's downward trajectory but I love this film about the exaggerated fairytale-like stories fathers tell sons as children and the reality behind them. Never a dry eye at the end,
Blindspotting: Criminal in this year with what is going on in the world that more people don't know about this film! The most intense final 20-30mins in a film that I remember seeing in a long time and opened my eyes to the Black Lives Matter / Blue Lives Matter conflict.
Candy: Australian film starring Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish. About two seemingly match-made souls who are both drug-addicts. Has some really heart-breaking moments.
Charlie Wilson's War: BRILLIANT BRILLIANT BRILLIANT film which nobody knows about for some reason! Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Phillip Seymour Hoffman (who steals every scene!) about the US arming the Taliban in the Afghan/Soviet conflict. Did I mention it's bloody brilliant?
Cinderella Man: Boxing film with Russell Crowe as depression-era James J. Braddock. I remember a story about the studio giving people their money back for this but for the love of God I've no idea why! Crowe is just amazing in this!
The Fisher King: Ahead of it's time looking at the possession-based sense of worth in the 80s and a great commentary that is pretty valuable to look at today.
Galaxy Quest: Watch it for Alan Rickman alone!
Hell of High Water: A great film with a brilliant starring turn by Chris Pine as a brother who resorts to robbing banks to pay the mortgage.
Insomnia: Christopher Nolan-directed crime thriller with Al Pacino and the best performance from Robin Williams, creepy creepy creepy!
Intouchables: French film about a wealthy disabled man who hires a street-wise carer and the relationship they form. Absolutely hilarious! Was remade with Kevin Hart & Bryan Cranston in "The Upside" but isn't a patch on this.
The Jacket: Little-known sci-fi with Adrian Brody, Kiera Knightley and a great supporting role for a younger Daniel Craig about an asylum inmate who, as a weird punishment gets drugged up, put in a straight-jacket and put into a mortuary drawer for a set period of time for "sensory deprivation", but realises he can travel in time!
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: Great noir-who-dunnit from Shane Black who later did The Nice Guys. Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer are just electric together.
Nightcrawler: Amazing film looking at the idea of car crash TV and what people will do to win ratings. Jake Gyllenhaal is so creepy in this it's genuinely uncomfortable to watch him at times.
Onward: Pixar's most recent offering. Putting it as under-rated as so few will have seen due to the lockdown. Wife and I saw it the week before closure and (having lost my father recently) I was absolutely in floods by the end of this.
Pleasanteville: Reese Witherspoon, Toby Maguire are siblings arguing about the TV when they get transported into the latter's favourite TV show. He thinks it's brilliant being in "the simpler time" but soon sees the ideology of the town is antiquated and dangerous. Amazing use of black and white vs colour to show the awakening of people in the show.
The Prestige: For my money it's Christopher Nolan's best film.
Road to Perdition: In the world of gangster films this is criminally overlooked. Tom Hanks as the "muscle" for a local kingpin (Paul Newman) going on the run. A great cast with Newman being mesmeric, Daniel Craig and Jude Law both being great, and a rain-soaked scene near the end which is so beautifully shot I have a video of it framed and mounted on my living room wall if the missus would allow it! Cannot believe this isn't out in 4K yet!
Serenity: Guardians of the Galaxy before it was cool and what Star Wars should have aimed for.
Sunshine: Yes the 3rd act is a bit off but this is one beautiful film.
Team America: World Police: So much more than just "Matt Damon!" - bloody brilliant satire.
Up in the Air: Jason Reitman with a brilliant film about isolationism and how unsustainable it is. George Clooney is a downsizing liaison who spends his life flying from place to place to co-ordinate the down-sizing of companies. His life is so vapid his main goal in life is to fly 1 million miles. Life and a woman gets in the way of this lifestyle and he quickly realises just how empty his life has been.